UN concerned over fighting in Sri Lanka

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Source: CCTV.com | 04-23-2009 19:30

The UN Security Council says it's concerned over the current situation in Sri Lanka at a time when Colombo has promised not to launch a huge military offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels. But the government rejected fresh UN appeals for a truce.

In this photograph released by the Sri Lankan military April 20, 2009 shows what the army says are thousands of people fleeing an area held controlled by the Tamil Tiger  separatists in northeastern Sri Lanka.REUTERS

The British Ambassador to the UN called on the Sri Lankan government to oblige by humanitarian law and allow international aid workers to monitor the treatment of civilians as they leave the No Fire Zone.

He also urged the Tamil Tigers to let UN workers save those trapped.

UK ambassador to UN John Sawers said, "We call on the LTTE to stop using civilians as human shields, to allow a UN assisted civilian evacuation from the area and to cease all violence and seek a purely political solution to their concerns."

The UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also urged the Sri Lankan government to release 13 UN staff members being held in government camps, where civilians are taken after they have fled the fighting.